Of late I have been purchasing out of date 1/32 60’s-70’s WW2 aircraft kits online. A couple of them I plan to build (I guess to relive the kits I built in my youth). Others will stay in my stash for my grandson. Does anyone else do this or do you avoid these kits because of their inaccuracies. Cheers
Depends on why your grandson builds (or will build). Unless he shares your nostalgia for that era and those kits, he’ll probably want to build something better and create his own memories.
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No.
My grand kids get a horrified look on their faces at the mere thought of building a model of anything.
I’ll occasionally buy an older 1/35 armor kit for nostalgia for myself. Wouldn’t touch any 60’s or 70’s aircraft kit personally. I have ZERO fond memories of any terrible fitting gap laden nightmare of airplane kit I built from the 60’s & 70’s. Now 80’s & 90’s are a different story and I will buy those on occasion for myself.
Sometimes the older kits are the only ones that are available of a certain aircraft. The older kits are usually easy builds and can make a nice change of pace from todays more complex kits. That also makes them idea starter kits for children and newbies to the hobby. Sadly my son is autistic and has issues with fine motor skills but he does love models and sitting with me when I build a kit he has chosen.
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Right now I’m gearing myself up to build the Gecko Daimler mk2 armored car. It’s what my dad served on in the Royal Dragoon’s. He was always waiting for a company to put out a model of it. Besides the ancient Hasagawa model in 1/48 scale. Sadly it took too long for one to come since he passed away in 2018. So this ones going to be for my dad. Hope I don’t screw it up.
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yep, I stayed away from any planes until about three years ago because every plane from my childhood was a nightmare build.
Funny though, my first back was in fact a ZERO.
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Not trying to be funny, is he autistic or aspergers?
Pervasive Developmental Disorder, autistic spectrum.
When I was a kid, I just wanted to stick them together and then paint them with whatever I had available - some very interesting camouflage patterns ensued! After not building anything for 50years I’ve just re-started. I’m in awe of the kits you all build and doubt I’ll ever get close to your quality but my older self is looking forward to the challenge. But as a kid, no, it was just fun putting them together when I’d saved up enough cash to buy one - at 75c! Whether your grandson is interested in old planes is a different matter. Depends on his interest but 60s and 70s kits are fine for young kids - just my thoughts
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When I was a kid in the 60’s, I loved building the old Monogram naval airplanes. I didn’t paint them except for a few details, but the wheels retracted, the wings could fold, the avenger could drop a torpedo, the turret revolved. I could play with them and did. Same with the old Renwal and Monogram armor. The tracks moved, the door opened, guns swiveled. Even the GI’s were much more detailed than a bag of plastic army men, so I played with them, broke and mended them and played some more. As I grew older I wanted more accuracy, and I painted more and now I can enjoy the complicated builds and paint and weathering of a static display. However, it was the play value of those early kits that got me interested in the hobby.
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without boring you on my details of learning, I have found this book NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity to be helpful on many levels. Maybe helpful for future help on how so many seem to drop the ball on the subject and getting help. Godbless
I recently bought that 1/32 Revell Huey. I built it w my dad who passed away 8 years ago tomorrow. I grew up working in hobby store so ill buy kits from time to time that remember catching my attention. Monogram/Revell reissues like the B-17 and P 61 in 1/48th and Tamiyas 1/35 M42 Duster that was hard to find back then but is produced now. Certainly nostalgia for me on these.
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Martin, you might want to look at a couple of builds over on T-L:
https://www.track-link.com/blogs/50424
https://www.track-link.com/blogs/52098
The suspension is the tricky part! But patience will get you through…
How many 1:32 planes were there back then? I remember having the F4 Corsair (Baa Baa Blacksheep was on the tube at the time) and an ME 109.
Half my stash is outdated kits.
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I haven’t built any aircraft kits since my 20s, mostly because I suck at masking and securing clear parts, but I pursue this site daily for the nostalgia and sometimes buy stuff that aren’t airplanes.
Check out the Revell George Washington cut away sub on the first page. I built that in the sixties- spring loaded Polaris missiles…
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I remember that sub! Mine had a clear side IIRC. And I’m not sure why the Navy was so upset - the interior was hardly a realistic representation of a real sub. There was enough empty space inside for the crew to hold ballroom dances…
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I remember the Polaris sub too! Definitely one of the coolest models of its era.
The Navy may be didn’t like the toy Polaris missle launcher aspect because lil brats would be playing games with “nuclear armageddon” etc.
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Mine didn’t have the range to hit the USSR, but they certainly managed to disappear “over the horizon”! If I wanted to see the real thing I just hopped on the Port Jeff ferry - we often spotted subs surface-running on the way in or out of the Groton facility…
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Thanks for pointing me in the right direction Tom.